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Updated: May 24, 2025

Rodent Estrous Cycle Monitoring Utilizing Vaginal Lavage: No Such Thing As a Normal Cycle
Published on: August 30, 2021
The menstrual cycle: an overlooked vital sign in psychiatry?
Katie Fm Marwick1, Thomas J Reilly2, Stephanie Allan3
1Division of Psychiatry, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK katie.marwick@ed.ac.uk.
Abstract:
We argue that psychiatry has overlooked a significant modifiable risk factor for mental illness in female patients: cyclical symptoms associated with the menstrual cycle. Premenstrual dysphoric disorder has recently been included in the International Classification of Diseases-11, while there is growing evidence that menstrual cycle stage can impact mental health symptoms transdiagnostically and influence important outcomes such as suicide or admission to hospital. Intervention is possible using existing widely available hormonal treatments. Asking patients about the relationship between their menstrual cycle and mental health is an opportunity to improve diagnosis and treatment that should no longer be neglected.
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